As the elevator rose and stopped almost immediately at the fourth floor, Hardik raised his head to ask, "Would you believe the coincidence?"

Jassi pulled Hardik's head down on his shoulder again, because he wasn't done with the hug yet.

The door opened.

"Er, Jass, maybe we could get out of the lift and—"

Jassi frowned as he finally conceded to breaking the hug.

"Is it a coincidence, though? The power going off and on exactly—"

"Oh, no—"

"VIRAT BHAIYA DID THIS!"

Panic-stricken by Jassi's tone, both of them looked around frantically.

"THEY ARE WATCHING US!" yelled Jassi.

"Shh, shh," said Hardik. "What if they are watching us? We weren't doing anything wrong—we were just hugging. We weren't kissing. Though that's not wrong for me anymore, since I am no longer married," he added with a sinister smile.

"Stop being dark and creepy," said Jassi, "and if it's Virat bhaiya—as I'm sure it was—let's plan a revenge. He can't get away with locking us in every time!"

Hardik's eyes brightened, before springing into alert-mode.

"Wait, can they hear us?"

"I hope not...and outside the lift, they can't possibly hear us..."

They stepped out of the lift which had started to beep with the door open that long, and made for Jassi's room, and locked the door before they sat to lay down their plan.

"Ideas?" asked Jassi. "Okay, let's start with how many times and where he has locked us in."

"Hotel rooms, dressing rooms, the terrace, an elevator today—"

"—and the prayer room of an airport once," added Jassi.

"Yes." Hardik nodded gravely. "I personally think locking him inside any of the above would be too kind. I suggest a broom closet."

Jassi wrinkled his nose. "Isn't that too, er, harsh?"

"Don't even go there. Nothing is too harsh for a person who locks his younger brothers in all the time."

"But he does it only when we're fighting, because he loves us and wants us to be friends," said Jassi uncertainly.

"We can put something nice in the broom closet," said Hardik dismissively. "Like candies or milk powder."

"Virat bhaiya hates candies and milk powder."

"Like a salad box, then."

"Good idea." Jassi thought a little. "And you know what? However nice Rohit bhaiya pretends he is, I think he has a hand in all these, too."

"He does?" asked Hardik, baffled.

"He listens to everything Virat bhaiya says. He knows of everything Virat bhaiya does anyway, and not objecting is as bad as being party to the plan. I say we lock them both in."

"You mean the messers become the messees!"

"Can't you be original?"

"On board," said Hardik solemnly, pretending he hadn't heard. "Then we have to throw in a few packets of milk powder, too."

They went on a reconnaissance of the hotel, and found a broom closet—which was a bit too clean, but it was a broom closet nevertheless.

"We can lure them in quite easily," said Hardik. "How long should we keep them?"

"Two days," said Jassi.

Hardik gave a painful smile. "No, that'll make me feel bad. They, er, have been there for me over all this mess, all the time...and for once, they took my side over yours..."

"You sickhead," said Jassi, flaring up. "You told them I was leaving you, which I never did!"

"I never said anything to anyone!"

"Virat bhaiya knows! Rohit bhaiya knows! You told everyone! You literally complained to everyone! How old are you, five?"

"I didn't complain to anyone," said Hardik, indignantly.

"All right, fine—but you believed—and that's enough!"

"Who told you I believed?"

"THOSE TWO WHOM YOU COMPLAINED TO."

"I DIDN'T COMPLAIN TO ANYONE."

"STOP SHOUTING."

"YOU STOP SHOUTING FIRST," hollered Hardik. "YOU'RE RUINING WE'RE-FRIENDS-AGAIN DAY FOR BOTH OF US."

"Stop quoting American sitcoms," said Jassi, lowering his voice. "But you're right—instead of fighting ourselves, I say we go one step further and instigate a fight between Virat bhaiya and Rohit bhaiya before locking them in!"

"That's an awesome idea—how do we do it, though?"

"The first thing that comes to my mind is—"

But Jassi couldn't get any further, because the corridor where they were standing, beside the broom closet, was besieged at that point by a rowdy bunch of their team.

"THREE CHEERS FOR JASSI AND HARDIK!" roared Virat, "WHO ARE FINALLY FRIENDS AGAIN!"

Everyone cheered their lungs out as Jassi and Hardik exchanged a dark look. Rohit came up to give them a side-hug each, misty-eyed at seeing them both looking so peaceful after so long.

Kuldeep patted their arms and said, "We're successful, so can we go to the Jacuzzi now, Rohit bhai?"

"The what?" said Virat in disbelief.

"The, er, Jacuzzi," said Rohit. "Kuldeep and I thought of—"

"You're both professional cricketers playing a World Cup! You're not here to take Jacuzzi baths!"

Kuldeep's eagerness faltered a bit.

"It's just once, Virat," said Rohit, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, just once, Virat bhai!" said Kuldeep quickly.

Virat melted immediately. "Yes, yes, you can go, of course—wait."

"What?" asked Rohit warily.

"If you wanted to go to the Jacuzzi, why did you not ask me, Kuliya? Why did you ask Rohit?"

"Because he knew you'd object," suggested Rohit.

"Oh, I see what you're doing here," cried Virat. "You're trying to play the cool elder brother here and make me the villain!"

Jassi, in whose head a bulb had just lit, turned to Hardik and made an exaggerated eye gesture with lots of blinking and wagging of eyebrows.

Thinking it was a new game and oblivious to the meaning, Hardik winked back.

Jassi glared.

Here was a perfect opportunity, and this idiot—!

Shubman, however, had caught on to what might be going on.

"Rohit bhai doesn't need to play the cool elder brother, Virat bhai," he said innocently. "He already is—he offered to take me and Siraj to the Bronx Zoo after the next match!"

Virat spluttered.

"If you wanted to go, I would—"

"You're not big on zoos and wildlife," said Rohit. "And the kids are scared to ask anything for you, because you'd yell at them."

"I—never—yell—you're the one who—Rishabh, tell us who the bully is!"

"Rohit bhaiya," said Rishabh promptly.

An indignant Rohit turned on Virat. "Why are you bringing Rishabh into this?"

"Because Virat bhaiya thinks you're a thief, Rohit bhaiya," said Jassi in a dangerous whisper. "To be taking Shubi and Kuldeep and Siraj on your side!"

"Yes, you are!" said Virat.

"And you are no better," said Rohit. "Why is Jassi taking your side? Jassi is supposed to be on my side!"

Jassi exchanged another blinking with Hardik.

"Because you are the thief, Ro," pointed out Hardik in a reasonable voice. "What about all that milk powder stuff you and Rahul have going on?"

"Exactly!" said Virat.

"You got Hardik too!" said Rohit.

"He deserves them," said Rishabh, latching on to Virat's arm. "He deserves us all."

"And Rishabh!" shrieked Rohit.

"But Rohit bhai is the one taking us to the zoo," said Shubman staunchly, latching on to Rohit's arm in turn.

"Shubi—" said Virat fiercely.

Kuldeep, who had no idea what was going on, tried to say, "You can come to the Jacuzzi and the zoo, too, Virat bhai."

"That's not the point," said Virat dramatically. "The point is that Jassi, Hardik and Rishabh have taken my side out of their own, free will, but you, Rohit, are bribing my ones—"

"And you have of course never tried to manipulate my ones!" Rohit said, dripping sarcasm and flinging his arm out.

Jassi exchanged with Hardik the most significant look yet. He smoothly replaced Shubi's hold on Rohit's arm with his own.

"I never manipulate anyone," said Virat. "Ask Jassi—"

Hardik shook off Rishabh's hand and caught Virat's arm and casually opened the door of the broom closet behind his back.

One, two, three...

"We don't have the salad or the milk powder, but it's time—!" Jassi swung Rohit around and pushed him into the closet, and was followed shortly by Hardik shoving Virat in.

Jassi slammed the door shut. Hardik drew the bolt.

"HAHA!" roared Hardik. "We'll unlock you when you've made up!"

"No," hissed Jassi. "They know the trick, they'll pretend to make up and we have to unlock them right now and we won't!"

"HAHA," amended Hardik. "Stay inside forever."

_______________

Virat reacted to their imprisonment by throwing himself on the door and banging it with all his strength.

"NO! NO! NO! THEY DID NOT GET THE BETTER OF US!"

"I think they just did," said Rohit, deadpan.

Virat pounded on the door harder, the sound rising above the cackling outside, led by Jaddu and Hardik.

"Ow!" said Rohit. "You're kicking me!"

"Deserve it, don't you?" snarled Virat. "JASSI, HARDIK, OPEN THE DOOR!"

"HAHA," was the answer.

"Tell them to open the door, Rohit," shrieked Virat. "Tell the kids you bribed and stole from me to open—the—door!"

"They will open it eventually," said Rohit, who considered this a great overreaction on Virat's part. "Sit down."

"WHERE? YOU'RE TAKING UP ALL THE SPACE!"

"All right, keep standing."

"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT. MOVE YOUR LEGS, YOU THIEF!"

"Don't call me the thief," said Rohit with a scowl. "What have you been doing to Rishabh?"

"Nothing. I have just not-bullied him."

"Just like I've not-called-Rahuliya-Rahuliya."

"You just called him Rahuliya," said Virat.

Rohit gave him an evil smile. "Not in front of him."

Virat narrowed his eyes and tried to kick out at Rohit's knees. Rohit caught his shoe in time with the result of Virat tumbling down on top of him and poking him in the eye with his elbow.

"Get off," protested Rohit.

"You pulled me down," said Virat crankily, and managed to get up and squeeze in to sit opposite Rohit. "Now what?" he asked.

"We wait," said Rohit blandly.

"I don't want to wait here with you."

"Just like Jassi and Hardik didn't want to be stuck in the lift, I suppose," said Rohit drily.

"Hey, I was trying to do them a good turn! And neither of them were locked in with a thief."

"Take it in a nice spirit," said Rohit. "It's not like we are stealing each others' kids—instead, we're both taking all of them under our wing so that when we don't stay with them, they would still share the same love between them and pass that on."

Virat fell silent.

"When did we come here, Ro?" he said after a while, very soberly.

"Er, we got trapped," said Rohit. "Jassi and Hardik tricked us."

Virat made a disgusted face. "Not literally, dumbass. When did we reach this phase? It has always been me stealing you for myself from everyone and you stealing me—" He paused.

"Yes?" asked Rohit cautiously.

"You never stole me from anyone, Rohit! You never stole me from anyone!"

Rohit did some quick thinking and adopted a cheesy-as-hell-Viratish tone.

"Because I didn't need to—I always had you, Vi. I still have."

Virat was silent a suspiciously long amount of time. Rohit couldn't make out his expression in the shadowy closet.

"Vi—?"

Virat threw himself on Rohit.

"I LOVE YOU, RO!"

Rohit tried to squirm out.

"WHY ARE YOU SILENT?" demanded Virat.

"Because I know you know that I do too," said Rohit, exasperated. (There was a limit of the cheesiness he could take.)

"I wish we always stay like this," said Virat, voice thick with emotion.

"In a broom closet where there's no more than a millimetre of space free?" asked Rohit.

"Yes," said Virat. "What do you wish for?"

"The same," said Rohit, with a pained smile.

And when Jassi and Hardik finally unbolted the closet an hour later, for the first time ever, they experienced the satisfaction of 'messers' seeing their 'messees' moving past a fight and coming out of the locked zone with arms around each other and cheesy, peaceful smiles on their face.

***

https://youtu.be/zp7NtW_hKJI

A/N: This is my Jassi-Hardik song, partly from associative memory, because I first heard this song when I was in a Jassi-Hardik phase last December, and the lyrics and the stunningly beautiful music always reminds me of my second-favourite duo in ICT.